Shipping container for electron gun assemblies



M y 5, 1970 M. M. POZNAK 3,509,994

SHIPPING CONTAINER FOR ELECTRON GUN ASSEMBLIES Filed March 4, 1969 a Sheets-Sheet 1 uvvnvron MORTON M. POZNAK M. M. POZNAK 3,509,994

SHIPPING CONTAINER FOR ELECTRON GUN ASSEMBLIES May 5, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 4, 1969 II II. II. II II II II INVENTOR I MOI? r0/v M. P'OZNAK B M i I ATTORNEY United States Patent '0 3,509,994 SHIPPING CONTAINER FOR ELECTRON GUN ASSEMBLIES Morton M. Poznak, 7 Edgewood Ave., West Orange, NJ. 07052 Filed Mar. 4, 1969, Ser. No. 804,238 Int. Cl. B65d 85/42, 1/36 US. Cl. 206-65 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A shipping container of molded plastic having a plurality of side-by-side recesses each configured to accommodate an electron gun assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide a shipping container for electron gun assemblies wherein all of the gun components will be firmly held in vibration-proof condition within the container.

' It' is another object of this invention to provide a shipping container for electron gun assemblies wherein the gun assemblies are nested in the container in a compact and efiicient manner.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a molded plastic shipping container having a plurality of side-by-side recesses configured to accommodate a plurality of electron gun assemblies in secure shipping condition.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a shipping container having a plurality of recesses configured to receive electron gun assemblies and having a cover thereover, the depth of the recesses being such that the cover will firmly retain the gun assemblies in the recesses.

It is a still further object to provide a shipping container as above wherein a pair of shipping containers with covers thereover may be assembled with their covers in face-to-face relation to provide a compact shipping package.

Other objects and advantages will become more apparent When considered in conjunction with'the following detailed description and drawingsshowing by way of example, a preferred embodiment of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the shipping container of this invention with the cover partly broken away;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an elevational view showing two of the Shipping containers assembled in face-to-face relation to provide a shipping package.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The shipping container of this invention is adapted to carry five electron gun assemblies of the type used in color television. Referring to FIG. 1, the gun assembly includes an elongated glass tube 22 having a disc head 24 with a plurality of leads and supports 26 extending through presses 28 arranged in a circle in said head 24. These leads and supports 26 form an annulus of terminals having a diameter less than that of the disc head 24 on the tube side of said head and are connected to the gun elements, namely, the cathode, the grids and the anodes in the conventional manner. The cathode assembly, first and second grids and first and second anodes are connected to elongated supporting rods 30 to provide and insure proper positioning of the gun elements. There are three supporting rods 30 arranged in equal spacing around the periphery of the gun elements to form a generally circular outline no greater than the diameter of the disc head 24. The second anode 32 has a radiating rim 34 of a diameter generally equal to that described by the three supporting rods 30 and the disc head 24. The rim 34 supports an annular getter assembly 36 by means of a plurality of arms 38 secured thereto.

A plurality of envelope neck engaging spring legs 40 are secured and equidistantly spaced on the periphery of the rim 34 and have outwardly curved end portions 42 to engage the inner face of the conventional envelope neck. An elongated spring strip 44 is connected to the periphery of rim 34 at a point diametrically opposite one spring leg 40 and mounts a second annular getter assembly 46.

This type of electron gun assembly must necessarily be shipped in a manner such that a minimum of vibration and shock will be encountered in order to protect the large number of welded and soldered joints found in this unit. This problem is further complicated by the elongated spring strip 44 which supports the second getter assembly 46.

In view of the above, the container of this invention comprises a molded plastic base 50 of generally rectangular outline having side channels 52 and 54 adjacent the longitudinal edges 56 and 58, respectively, of the base. A first gun-receiving recessed section 60 is formed in the base 50 to conform to the overall configuration of the above described gun assembly. The first section is adjacent and generally parallel to one of the end edges 6-1 and includes an elongated slot 62 sized to accommodate the elongated tubular member 22 of the gun assembly and having its lower end terminating in side channel 52. A recess 63 extends from the upper end of the elongated slot 62 and is adapted to receive the annulus of terminals immediately adjacent the disc head 24. An elongated chamber 64 extends from the end of the aforesaid recess 63 and is adapted to contain the disc head 24, the elongated supporting rods 30, the rim 34 of the second anode 32, together With annular getter 36 and supporting springs 40. Positioning grooves 66 are formed in the forward end of the chamber 64 to receive the curved ends 42 of springs 40 so as to position the gun assembly longitudinally in the recessed section 60.

A curved channel 70 extends from the elongated chamber 64 and merges with side channel 54. This curved channel 70 is adapted to carry the elongated spring strip 44. A depression 72 in side channel 54 is provided to receive the lower portion of the second getter assembly 46 carried on elongated spring strip 44.

The recessed section 60 is provided with several additional means for positioning the gun assembly 20 therein. A protuberance 74 is formed in the forward end of chamber 64 so as to engage the upper edge of the anode rim 34 and retain the gun assembly in longitudinal position with the lower end of glass tube 22 resting in notch 76 in the outer wall of the side channel 52. Further, a pair of spaced gripping elements 78 and 79 are formed in the wall of slot 62 to grip the outer surface of glass tube 22.

Second and third gun receiving recesses 80 and are provided in the base 50 parallel to gun receiving recess 4 3, 60. Fourth and fifth gun receiving recess sections 100 and 110 are similarly shaped to 60, 80 and 90 but are reversed end-for-end to provide a more compact arrangement.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the base50 is provided with a cover 112 which acts to retain the gun assemblies within-their respective recessed sections and in hermetically sealed condition. In this connection, it should be noted that the depths of the various portions of the gun receiving recess sections are of such a depth that the cover 112 will retain the gun assemblies in position in a tight and secure manner. Prior to hermetic sealing, an inert atmosphere is injected into the container so as to preserve the quality of the getter since the getter material deteriorates in normal atmosphere.

In order to provide a compact and sturdy shipping package, two of the shipping containers are positioned so that their covers are in face-to-face contact to provide a shipping package 120 as illustrated in FIG. 4 of the drawing.

There are many types of materials which may be used to produce the shipping container of this invention.-

The main requirements are that the material should be easily molded, having substantial strength and be reasonable in cost.

I claim:

1. A shipping container of molded plastic adapted to nest a plurality of electron gun assemblies therein, each gun assembly comprising an elongated tubular member, a disc head on one end of said elongated tubular member, a plurality of leads and supports extending through presses arranged in a circle in the disc head, the leads and supports forming an annulus of terminals having a diameter less than that of the disc head on the tube side of said head, the leads and supports being connected to the gun elements comprising a cathode assembly, the first and second grids and the first and second anodes, said gun elements being held in spaced position by means of three elongated supporting bars connected peripherally thereto to form a circle substantially the same diameter as that of the disc head, the second anode having an rim positioned beyond the three elongated supporting bars and of substantially the same diameter as the disc head, an annular getter assembly having a diameter less than that of the rim mounted in spaced relation thereto by means of armssecured to the rim, three spring legs affixed equidistantly around the rim and extending outwardly therefrom, each spring leg having an outwardly curved end portion extending radially beyond the rim periphery, an elongated spring strip connected to the rim at a point diametrically opposite one spring leg and extending outwardly together with said spring legs, said elongated spring strip mounting a second annulargetter assembly at its free end, said container comprising a molded plastic base of generally rectangular outline, said base having a side channel adjacent each of its longitudinal edges, a first section recessed in the base in a manner to conform to the overall configuration of the gun assembly, said first section being adjacent and generally parallel to one of the end edges, the first section including an elongated slot sized to accommodate the elongated'tubular member and having its lower end terminating in one of the side channels, a recess extending from the upper end of the elongated slot adapted to receive the annulus of terminals, an elongated chamber extending from the end of the aforesaid recess adapted to contain the disc head, the elongated supporting rods and the rim of the second anode, positioning grooves formed in the walls of the elongated chamber to accept the curved ends of the spring legs to retain the gun assembly in longitudinal position, a curved channel extending from the elongated chamber and merging with the other side channel and adapted to carry the elongated spring strip, a depression in the bottom portion of the other side channel adapted to accommodate the second annular getter assembly, a second and a third section recessed in the base'as in the first section in parallel spaced relation thereto and a fourth and fifth section recessed in the base as inthe first section and reversed end-for-end.

2. The invention as described in claim 1 and wherein a notch is formed in the outer wall of the side channel in alignment with each elongated slot to receive the end of the elongated tube and further wherein. the bottom of each elongated chamber is provided with a protuberance adapted to engage and bear against the upper edge of the rim of the second anode to further retain longitudinal positioning of the gun assembly.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 2 and wherein the open face of the base is provided with a cover to retain the gun assemblies in their respective sections and the depth of each section is such that the gun assemblies will be firmly held by said covers.

4. The invention as described in claim 3 and wherein two covered containers are assembled together with their covers in faceto face relationship to form a shipping 

